Building the next generation

Legos have always been fun, but try building your future with them.
Gabby Tjiroze
Elizabeth Joseph

Young Engineers hosted a Bricks Challenge, which allowed children from all over Namibia to experience the world of engineering through building with Legos. The event took place this past Saturday.

“Using stories and simple demonstrations to spark imagination and critical thinking, the Bricks Challenge is Young Engineers’ most popular enrichment programme,” said Young Engineers director Willem Hanghuwo.

Young Engineers is an international edutainment organisation active in over 26 countries since 2008. Young Engineers Namibia was established and launched in 2017.

“In Namibia, there is a great gap in terms of technology and scientific principles, and how things work in reality, most especially between primary education and through to high school,” Hanghuwo said.

The Bricks Challenge enrichment programme introduces elementary pupils to the basic laws of physics and the necessary mathematic equations that coincide with those scientific calculations.

Some of the Young Engineers’ programmes include Big Builders, the Bricks Challenge, Galileo Techic and Robo Bricks.

They utilise Saturdays, to allow those children with tight school schedules to participate.

Currently they’ve working with under 100 children, who are either once-off or enrolled students.

“We urge parents and school management to come forward and enhance/complement the education of our children, while they are young and energetic,” Hanghuwo said.

The initiative not only encourages independent thinking but also gets rid of some limitations forced upon learners in classrooms. It helps them to learn both theoretical and practical concepts.

This then helps them cope better when they are faced with more complex science and engineering curricula.

Exposing the future generations to a more practical side of any career is always to their advantage. This is a multi-challenging activity that will definitely allow children to also learn more about their abilities to construct and build figures.

The initiative will not be stopping anytime soon, so be sure to get your children involved.